GGBL commissions $65,000 WaterHealth centre for Zeenu community

The Board of Directors of Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd (GGBL) have commissioned a $65,000 WaterHealth Centre for the people of Zeenu in the Greater Accra Region.

This is the second WaterHealth Centre financed by GGBL and Diageo Plc (its parent company) for the Zeenu community? a peri-urban community close to Ashaiman which encountered water problems before the dual projects.

Chairman of the Board of GGBL, Mr. David Harlock, was supported by Mr. Peter Ndegwa, Managing Director and Nii Adjei Anum, acting Chief of Zeenu to commission the 65,000 litres capacity centre set to provide safe drinking water to the community of an estimated 11,000 residents.

?Sustainability is an integral part of our business, informing and shaping every business decision we make ? including reducing our environmental footprint, sourcing local materials and directly investing in providing access to clean drinking water for vulnerable communities across Ghana.

?We remain committed to the pledge Diageo made, beyond producing great brands, creating employment and investing in talent and equipment, to enrich lives and empower local communities,? noted Mr. Harlock.

Mr. Ndegwa added that ?access to safe drinking water is critical to the health, wellbeing and socio-economic development of every community. At GGBL we recognise this need and we also recognise that a collective approach by like minded organizations to empower our communities is definitely the right thing to do ? hence the decision by GGBL, Diageo, the Diageo Foundation and the Coca-Cola system to work together under the Safe Water for Africa (SWA) partnership, to bring safe drinking water to thousands of Ghanaians through the building and installation of these WaterHealth Centres?

WaterHealth Centres are small modular structures that house water purification equipment to treat locally available water through a combination of sedimentation, pre-filtration and Ultra Violet technology.

Each Centre produces World Health Organization quality water that is available for a nominal usage fee on site, or pumped to additional distribution points depending on the size and density of the community.

The SWA partnership is a central tenet of GGBL?s Water of Life (WoL) portfolio to deliver access to safe drinking water to communities based on need and with the appropriate technology.